The duty-free spirits market in Asia-Pacific took a tumble in 2013 following years of strong growth, while the Americas and Europe both continued their upward trend.
The previously fast-growing Asia-Pacific market contracted -4.4% in 2013 versus 2012. A number of key markets in the region, including Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, recorded a drop in volumes in 2013.
The growth rate of the global duty-free market is slowing year on year, but this is the first time since 2009 that a region has seen a loss in volumes.
The Americas market saw the most rapid expansion, posting a 4.2% rise in volumes, with Latin America, the Caribbean and North America all enjoying healthy growth. The Americas’ share of the global market, at 19.7%, is now well ahead of that of Asia-Pacific, at 17.7%.
Growth continued in Africa and the Middle East, with a 3% increase driven by the expansion of the Middle Eastern market. Africa suffered the sharpest drop in sales last year, down -9.6% partly as a result of the recent downturn in tourism to Egypt because of political turmoil.
Sales in the largest regional market, Europe, grew more slowly in 2013 than in the previous year (+1.5%), but the region increased its share of total volumes to 54%, reversing 2012’s drop in market share. Eastern Europe and the Baltics was the fastest-growing sub-region last year, posting a 9.7% increase in sales. A revival in tourism in southern Europe helped sales there rise by 2%, while central Europe and the Balkans also grew by 2%. The Nordic and north-west Europe markets saw a slight drop in volumes.
About the Duty Free/Travel Retail Summary Report 2014
The IWSR Duty Free/Travel Retail Summary Report 2014 is a global overview of duty-free trends from 2008 to 2013. The report includes data by category, region, channel and quality, as well as rankings of the leading brands, suppliers, outlets and retailers. The report provides volume sales data at brand line and quality level by country and region for 16 key product categories.
About the IWSR
The IWSR is the leading source of analysis on the alcoholic beverage market. The IWSR’s database, essential to the industry, quantifies the global market of wine, spirits, beer and RTDs by volume and value, and provides insight into short- and long-term trends. Our data is used by all of the largest multinational wine and spirits companies, as well as many more local companies.
The IWSR’s unique methodology allows us to get closer to what is actually consumed and better understand how markets work. The IWSR conducts face-to-face interviews with 1,500 companies in 118 countries each year, with further input from 350 companies. The IWSR tracks overall consumption and trends at brand, quality and category level.